London
London plays more small-sided football than almost anywhere, on caged pitches under railway arches, astroturf behind leisure centres and floodlit cages on housing estates that fill every weeknight with teams of five. MCC gives those teams somewhere to go: three London grounds, a Pitch Round of five weeks, and a ladder that runs from a ground's final in May to the World Final on 7 July 2027.
Three grounds, three champions
Two halves of 15 minutes on a stop clock. Every team plays three group matches in a group of four, and the top two go into the playoffs, where a tie level after two halves goes to penalties. Five weeks of football on each ground leave London with three Pitch Champions, and each goes straight to the Country Championship.
North London
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
East London
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
South-West London
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
Checking live availability...
Where London already plays
Small-sided football is the ordinary way to play in this city. Hackney Marshes still stages its Sunday mornings on grass, but the midweek game moved long ago to artificial pitches booked by the hour: work leagues in Canary Wharf, student leagues around Mile End and Bloomsbury, pub teams in Tooting and Walthamstow. A team that already holds a Tuesday slot somewhere in zone 2 has everything it needs to enter.
The format MCC uses will feel familiar. Five a side, two halves of fifteen minutes on a stop clock, squads of up to nine. What changes is the stakes: a group of four, three matches, playoffs, and a Pitch Champion who leaves London for the Country Championship at the end of May.
Three grounds, three parts of the city
The London grounds are drawn to match how people actually travel. North London serves the Victoria and Piccadilly line corridors from Finsbury Park out to Enfield. East London takes in Stratford, Hackney, Barking and the Docklands. South-West London covers Wimbledon, Kingston, Richmond and the District line towns along the river. A ground takes up to 128 teams and plays a complete round of its own, so a side picks whichever it can reach on a weekday evening and never crosses the city for a fixture.
One operator per ground is being signed through the MCC venue programme. When a London agreement is done, that ground's venue goes up on this page by name, and the live cards above already tell a captain which of North, East and South-West London has its home settled and which is still waiting for an operator.
The London calendar
The Pitch Round opens on 9 April 2027, a fortnight after the clocks go forward, so most group fixtures kick off in daylight. London's group weekends are the second, third and fourth of April; the playoffs start on the last day of the month and every London ground crowns its champion on 9 May. The weather is the usual bargain this city offers: cool, often damp, and almost never bad enough to stop a game on an artificial surface.
Those three London Pitch Champions then meet the winners from Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle-Gateshead and Glasgow at the United Kingdom championship over the last weekend of May. Win that and the European stage is next, and after Europe only the World Final on 7 July 2027 remains.
Tournaments in London, and why this one is different
London has no shortage of one-day 5-a-side tournaments: charity days, corporate cups, summer festivals on the Marshes. Most end with a trophy and a pub. MCC is a season rather than a day, with a published format, a fixed $20,000 prize for whoever wins each London ground, and a ladder that carries that winner out of the city. Entry is for amateur sides only, each with a Team President on the form, and every player signs up to a zero-tolerance code.
The road out of London
- 01 · 9 Apr - 9 May 2027
Pitch Round
Groups of four on every pitch, three group matches each. The top two of every group go into the playoffs, and penalties settle a level playoff tie.
$20,000 - 02 · 28-30 May 2027
Country Championship
The Pitch Champions of each country play for the national title: two halves of 15 minutes, a league table, then the playoffs.
$150,000 - 03 · 2027
Continental Championship
Country Champions compete within their region for a place on the world stage.
$500,000 - 04 · 7 Jul 2027
World Championship
A five-team mini-league, then the World Final: two halves of 15 minutes, penalties if level. One MCC World Champion.
$5,000,000
Questions from London
How does a team enter MCC in London?
Register on this site and pick one of London's three grounds: North London, East London, South-West London. One Team License per team: USD 1,200 for one year until 1 March 2027 (then 2,500), or 5,000 for three years. Payment and KYC verification follow the application.
When does the tournament start in London?
The Pitch Round runs 9 April to 9 May 2027 on all three London grounds. The group matches are played on 9-11, 16-18 and 23-25 April, the playoffs from 30 April, and each ground's final on 9 May. Pitch Champions go straight to the Country Championship on 28-30 May 2027.
How many teams can play in London?
Up to 384: each of the three grounds takes up to 128 teams, and each needs a minimum of 64 to run its round. A full ground puts an entry on its waitlist instead of turning it away.
What can a London team win?
$20,000 per Pitch Champion, $150,000 for the United Kingdom title, $500,000 continental and $5,000,000 for the World Champion - plus championship rings from Country level up.
Which London ground should my team choose?
The one you can reach after work. Each ground runs its own complete round, so there is no advantage in travelling across the city. Pick by Tube line and by where most of your squad lives.
Do we need to play in a London league already?
No. Any amateur team of five to nine players can enter. Many London entries will come from existing midweek leagues, but a team formed for MCC is just as welcome.
Are the London venues confirmed?
Venues are signed through the MCC pitch owner programme and announced here as each agreement is completed. The ground cards on this page show the current state for North, East and South-West London.
Can a London team end up playing abroad?
Yes. A Pitch Champion plays the United Kingdom championship at the end of May 2027, and the country winner goes on to the European stage and, if it keeps winning, the World Final on 7 July 2027.
Also hosting in United Kingdom
Nearby in Europe
Claim a pitch in London
One Team License per team, for one year or three years. Squads of up to 9 are built in the MCC app after licensing. Registration takes the team, its coach and its Team President.
- USD1,200One year
- 5,000Three years